stoutfellow

I'm giving serious thought to calling in sick today. I'm not in any pain - no sore throat, no headache - but I'm more congested than usual, and I'm coughing a lot - quite a bit of phlegm. (I'm usually congested, what with year-round hay fever and all, but this is significantly worse.) Throw in the fact that it's supposed to rain all day, turning to snow overnight, and, well, magic eight ball says, "Don't count on it."

Bleah.

Today I went to the doctor; specifically, I had my first appointment with my new Primary Care Physician. While I was at the hospital, they provided me with a list of local doctors who were taking new patients. I cross-checked that with my insurance provider's list, leaving me with about eight choices. Of those, all but one had offices near the hospital; the last had an office not far from the university, and so I chose that one.

It's probable that, at least some of the time, I'll need to have someone drive me there, but today I decided to walk from campus. Checking the map, it seemed (and was) straightforward: go out through the southern entrance to the university, turn right, and hike about half a mile down the highway. Unfortunately, I took a wrong turn and, instead of leaving via the south entrance, I looped back north and wound up at the north entrance. At that point - already somewhat tired - I had about a mile to go. Despite this mishap, I got to the office with time to spare. (There are advantages to being phobic about being late.)

Not much happened; they took my weight, height, and blood pressure, and I had extended interviews with one of the nurses and the doctor. I was a bit annoyed by the fact that they kept asking me questions that I had answered in the paperwork I'd already submitted. (Cripes, I don't remember what generic medicine the pharmacy substituted for my prescription! "Begins with a 'p', I think....") Still, there was some meat to the discussion. They couldn't do bloodwork, since I'd eaten in the last twelve hours, but that can be taken care of anytime. (On that occasion, I will definitely need a ride - I'm not taking that hike on an empty stomach!) The doctor wants a follow-up in three or four months, and then we'll go to the standard once-a-year schedule.

(I did warn the doctor that I would be regularly consulting with my sister, the nurse, which he took in good part. He mentioned that I could give her access to my records, but that I might want to think carefully about whether that would be a good thing....)